Improved railway-rail



UNITED STATEsPATENT OFFICE.

JAMEs'MoNTGoMEEY, oE calo'roN LANDING, NEW YORK.

`uviPRovEn RAILWAY-RAIL.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 97,792, dated DecemberI4, 1869.

To all' whom it may concern.' `Be it known that I, JAMEsMoNTGoMERY, ofthecity, county, and State of New York,

have invented certain new and useful Improve- 1 .ments in Railways andRails therefor; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact vdescription of the same, reference being had to theaccompanyin g drawings, making partof this specification, and in 4, 5,6, and 7 are transverse sections, illustrat-V ing a modification in theconstruction of the rails and different modes of securing them inposition. Fig. 8 isa transverse section on a large scale, showing moreclearly the preferred form oftongne-and-groovejoints.' Fig. 9illustrates a modification inthe form of the longitudinalrail-jointhereinafter described.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding partsl in theseveral views.

My invention consists, first, in the construction, substantially ashereinafter described, of a hollow rail of steel or other metal, eitherwith or without the described longitudinal joints, with its top andbottom made thick for strength and its sides tapering toward thevertical center for lightness; second, in a device for securing suchrails in position; third, in hermetically closing the longitudinal andtransverse joints of the rails, so that they may be used for containingtelegraph-wires, for con` ducting water for the supply ot' locomotives,for pneumatic transportationtubes, or for other purposes; fourth, in apeculiar manner of forming a permanent joint in the rails.

In the drawings, A represents my tubular rail, which I prefer toconstruct without lon gitudinaljoints by rollingifrom a hollow ingot ofsteel by means of suitable machinery, which will form the subject of aseparate application for Letters Patent. By thus Arolling the bar from ahollow ingot the bers ofthe metal are drawn out longitudinally in allparts of the bar in such a manner as to impart to it greater tensilestrength.

In order to utilize the hollow interior of the rail for variouspurposes, it may be constructed, either at intervals orthroughout,withlon gil tudinal joints, as shown in Figs. 4 to 9, inclu.-

sive. The rail, Whether jointed or not, may be made with vertical sides,as in Fig. 3, or with flanges.

In order to afford uniform support to the rails ,throughout theirlength, I prefer to recess 4them intolongitudinal sleepers orstring-.pieces C, eitherjointed longitudinally, as shown in Figs. l, 2,and 3, or unjointed, as in Figs. 4 and b', and the said stringers may benotched into cross-ties D. The continuous support afforded to the railsby the stri'ng-pieces is also beneficial in preserving them frombreaking in frosty weather, and also avoiding the uneven motion causedby the springing of the rails between transverse ties.

If preferred, the rails may be applied directly to the crossgties D andthe stringere C beneath the ties, as illustrated in Fig. 5; or the railsmay be supported vertically by the ties D and laterally by the stringersC, as shown in Fig. 7.

E E represent bolts, provided with nuts E', and applied in any suitablemanner to clamp .the rails firmly in position. In Fig. 4 the nut E' isshown as introduced into a recess in the cross-tie. For use in this waythe nut will be made of oblong shape, to preventit from turning in thewood, and the wrench will be 4applied to the head of the bolt.

F F are metallic knees, which may be used in connection either with thebolts E, as shown.

in Figs. 5 and 6, or with barbed or other spikes G, as shown in Fig. 7,to support the inner side of the rail. 4 I

By forming the tongues a, as shown in Fig. 8, straight at the base andtapering toward the edge, and the grooves b of corresponding shape, thetongues are adapted to enter the grooves with facility, and when theyare wedged into position by cramping the rails between rolls or with anyother suitable machin! 'ery the parallel parts ofthe tongues and groovesmeans ot powerful rolls, a mandrel being ein. plolyed to close the innerange of the dove tai El is a thimble recessed into the ends oftherail-sections, and forming a coupling between them. Instead of thusemploying a separate thimble, thejoint can be formed in the railsectionsthemselves by recessing one end and reducing the other by means ofsuitable machinery. A- packing of india-rubber or other suitablematerial will be applied to form an air and water tight joint Whileproviding for the longitudinal motion due to the expansion andcontraction of the rails under changes of temperature. The longitudinaljoints may also be packed with india-rubber, either in the form of liatstrips or in cylindrical cords tted in grooves in the faces ofthe rail.

In practice I prefer to incline my rails inward at such an angle thatthe major axis of the ellipse will be in line with the resolution offorces between the vertical and lateral pressure and blows of thewheels. This inclination should, I suppose, be about thirty degrees fromthe perpendicular but it can be determined more accurately byexperiment.

I I I represent telegraph-wires supported within the rail by disks J ot'glass or otherinsulating material. The insulators J are formed withilangesj to retain them in their proper vertical position. K K representtest-holes, through which a suitable instrument maybe inserted incontact with either of the wires to ascertain Whether they are ineffective condition.

Ot' the four railsconstitutingadouble-track railway, I propose to employtwo for pneumaticdispatch purposes for conveying in opposite directions,one for the telegraph-Wires, and one as a Water-pipe, which may beconnected with natural supplies of good water wherever they exist alongthe road, and may be furnished at suitable intervals with couplings andtaps, with which a feed-pump on the locomotive may be connected, so asto make the locomotive pump v its own water. If preferred, water-tanksmay be used, the water-conducting rail being still useful as a means otconveying good and pure water from Wherever it may be found to thevarious water-stations. Where a head of water exists in the tubularrail, this may be used to elevate it into the tender or into astationary reservoir.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as newtherein and desire to secure by Letters Patent: l

l. A tubular rail rolled in one piece and composed of asinglebloom oringot, having an aperture through it of such shape and `dimensions andso located as to leave the largest amount of metal at top and bottom,(the points against which the wheels bear,) the vertical ornearly-vertioalsides being parallel to each other. y

2. ll/Iounting tubular steel rails in stringpieces G, from which theyderive both vertical and lateral support, and securing them by bolts E,applied in any manner, substantially as set forth.

formed in substantially' the manner described.

JAMES MONTGOMERY.

Witnesses:

OctrAvIUs KNIGHT, WM. H. BRERETON, Jr.

i HIhe dovetailjoints represented in Fig. 9,` i i i

